Shale retort



July 15 1924.

'P. L. BENNETT SHALE RETORT Filed April 12, 2 'Shets-Sheet 1 bhb wakLlhLlkmv FFLFFLFFFFFFF a 1N 1 RK .s s

SHALE RETORT Filed April 12', 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented July 15,1924.

TPEILANDER I. BENNETFE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SHADE RETORT.

Application filed April 12, 1922. Serial No. 551,875.

nature, such as are generally known as oilshale, but, as will be seen, my retorts are peculiarly adaptable for arrangement to effect what is known as a fractional dis- -'tillation or separation into classes of the elements rendered volatile and extracted.

In. carrying out my invention I provide a horizontally elongated closed chamber into one end of which the crushed shale is fed and from which it is discharged at -the opposite end, the shale being conveyed throughout its travel in the retort upon a distillation plate and is moved thereon by means of an endless chain conveyor or linked belt. I employ live superheated steam for heating this chamber in the retort through which the shale is passed, and I am thus enabled by means of valves in the steam supply pipes to control the temperature so as to successfully carry out the several steps in the process of distillation and thereby avoid the liability of losing one or more of the desired ingredients or elements that may be extracted from the shale.

By utilizing a plurality of retorts, arranged end to end but spaced a slight distance apart'by transferring the shale from one retort to the next succeeding retort, I am able, through the progressive control of the temperature in the individual retorts, to extract from the shale certain by-products which in the other apparatus of which I am aware would ordinarily be destroyed and lost. In fact, it has been ascertained after extensive investigation and experimentation that I- am able to extract or distill ofi" practically all of the carboniferousj elements of the oil shale rock during its progress through the successive retorts until all that remains to be discharged from the last retort is a carbonaceous substance in a practically granulated form that may be effectively used for divers purposes, such as an aggregate with cement for concrete road-building, foundation work, masonry,

etc. With a retort such as I have designed the shale is constantly moving in a body while within the same, so that none of it remains stationary during the distillation steps, and by the use of the steam in pipes in the manner above mentioned, there is no open flame or unregulated heat that comes into contact with the structure for supporting the shale. I have thus materially reduced the liability of the decomposition of the elements which would produce a large proportion of asphaltum or similar gummy substances that would gravitate or flow through the shale and form a deposit upon the shale-supporting or conveying structure which would have a tendency to retard the process by forming an insulating coating on the distillation plate and clog the inter- 'stices of the conveyor so that it would require the frequent stopping of the mechanism to clear away the same.

Besides the above recited advantages I have the following objects in view: To provide an apparatus of this character that is novel and simple in construction; easy to manipulate and economical both to manu- .facture and maintain, and I prefer to carry out my invention in substantially the manner hereinatfer fully described, and as more particularly pointed out in the annexed claims. Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings that form a part of this specification, and which illustrate, in a schematic manner, a typical or preferred embodiment of my invention,

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of my improved retort.

Figure 2 is a transverse vertical section thereof taken on line 22, Fig. 1.

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic side elevation of a plurality of retorts, illustrative of the several steps in the fractional distillation process in which my invention is employed.

Figure 4 is a perspective showing somewhat in detail a fragmentary portion of the shale conveying belt, such as may be advantageously employed.

In the drawings similar reference characters have'been employed to designate the same parts of the apparatus wherever they occur throughout the several views, and by referring, first, to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings it will be seen the structure preferably comprises a suitable 'cas1ng or housing consisting of parallel vertical side walls 5, 5, extending the length of the retort that are connected along their upper edges by oppositely inclined roof-plates 6, 6, and along their lower edges by oppositely inclined floor plates 7 7, while transverse end walls 8, 8, connect the vertical end edges of the side walls, roof and floor plates to provide an enclosure or housing. The housing thus formed provides an interior chamber within the retort which in cross-section, as seen in Fig. 2, is six-sided or hexagonal in outline.

Mounted upon suitable standards 9 arising from the floor at opposite ends of the housing is a horizontally disposed elongated plate 10, which I herein have termed a dis tillation plate for convenience. As seen in the drawings, the longitudinal edges of the plate are flanged upwardly, as at 11, to provide guards that guide the shale conveyor chain or linked belt thereon and prevent the accidental discharge of the shale laterally from the sides of the plate. Extending across the plate and spaced above the same are a plurality of cross-pieces 12, that, as will hereinafter be described, are employed todistribute in an even layer by scraping off the piled up Shale back upon the conveyor and plate. The conveyor comprises a plurality of links 13 hingedly secured together in longitudinal rows and connected suitably in transverse arrangement so as to provide a substantially wide belt with interstices or recesses in and between the divers links, and the links are provided with upwardly and forwardly extending plates 14 that act as shovels or provide pockets to move the shale along in its transit through the retort. At opposite ends of the distillation plate 10 T have provided rotatable sprockets 15 around which the chain conveyor passes, which sprockets are mounted upon suitable shafts 16 journal'ed in the upper portions of side walls 8 of the retort. One of the shafts 16, which acts as the driveshaft, extends through the wall of the retort and is provided with a pulley 17 fast thereon which is driven by a belt 18 from any suitable source of power. The chain conveyor has its upper portion extending along and supported by the distillation plate, while its opposite or return portion passes under the same in the well known manner of an endless conveyor.

A. horizontal opening is made trans.

versely across the upper portion of end wall 8 at the receiving end of the retort, and a suitable wide chute or hopper 19 is positioned therein in an inclined plane so that the shale received thereon will be discharged upon the link conveyor. The opposite end wall 8 of the retort is slotted horizontally intermediate its upper and lower edges, and 'a discharge chute or hopper 20 of substantially the same construction as hopper 19 is positioned therein so that the shale after passing through the retort is discharged from the distillation plate and the conveyor and is received by hopper 20 and passes out of the retort. Mounted in the retort, preferably at the discharge end, is a feed header 21 that is supplied with steam through a feed pipe 22 from any suitable superheater apparatus 23 mounted adjacent the retort; said feed pipe being controlled by a valve 22 interposed therein so as to regulate the quantity of steam admitted to the system. There may be a plurality of these feed headers 21 (Fig. 2) and suitable circulation pipes 24 lead therefrom toward the opposite end of the retort where they are turned backward and extend to the first-mentioned end where they enter a return header 25. The return headers, of course, correspond in number to the feed headers 21, and the steam after passing into the return headers is discharged through return pipe 26 and conveyed back. to the steam generator. The steam pipes 2 1 are positioned below the distillation plate 10 and retain the steam therein so that only the radiated heat from said pipes will be effective upon plate 10, and the heating agent does not come into actual contact with the distillation plate or other structure upon which the shale is deposited and moved.

As the shale passes through the retort upon the distillation plate 10 the temperature of the retort is ascertained by observing the pyrometer 27 and may be regulated by the control valve 22 in feed pipe 22, and in the event too much pressure is admitted to the retort the safety valve 28 will allow a portion thereof to escape. The heat upon the distillation plate causes the shale to throw ofi gaseous vapors which pass out of or are drawn off through the top or roof of the retort through the outlet nozzle 29 and is conveyed therefrom through the union pipe 30 to a suction pipe 31 leading from a suitable exhaust fan or suction pump. The gaseous vapors are then conveyed to a suit able condenser where the usual oil refining process is proceeded with to separate the elements into their component parts.

As seen in Fig. 3 of the drawings, T prefer to carry out the process of extraction of the oil, waxes and gases from the shale by employing a plurality, at least four, retorts designated as A, B, C and D in the diagram, and arrange the same substantially end to end, but spaced apart, and each succeeding retort slightly below the horizontal plane of the preceding retort so that the discharge hopper 20 of one retort will deposit in the feed hopper 19 of the next structure. By controlling the temperature in the several retorts, A, B, G, D, etc., and having the temperature' in retort B slightly higher than in retort A, and so on to the end of the battery of retorts, I am able to extract the elements without decomposition which otherwise should the shale in its original state be subjected to the higher temperature of retort B. The same principle holds true with respect to the other retorts and permits me to extract a considerably greater variety of oil, gases and waxes than has heretofore been done with apparatus of which I am aware.

What I claim is 1. A shale retort comprising an elongated housing, a plurality of heating coils disposed therein, a distillationplate extending longitudinally within said housing and spaced slightly above said heating coils, a conveyor consisting of a chain-like netting movable longitudinally upon said' plate in the interstices of which the shale is deposited, shovel blades mounted in said conveyor transverse to the plane of movement of the latter, said blades and netting co-acting to move the shale upon said distillation plate, a plurality of scrapers arranged transversely of the length of said plate and positioned in a horizontal plane slightly above'the upper edges of said shovels, and vapor outlets leading from said housing whereby the products of distillation are withdrawn.

2. A shale retort comprising an elongated housing, a plurality of heating coils disposed therein, a distillation plate extending longitudinally within said housing and spaced slightly above said heating coils, a feed chute adjacent one end of said housin for depositing shale upon said plate, a discharge chute through the opposite end of said housing below said plate and adapted to receive the shale discharged therefrom, a conveyor consisting of a plurality of chain links forming a belt having interstices in which the shale is deposited from said feed chute and whereby said shale is moved through said housing in contact with said distillation plate, a plurality of shovel blades interposed in said chain links transversely of the plane of movement of said conveyor, a plurality of scrapers-arranged transversely of the length of said plate and positioned in a horizontal plane slightly above the upper edges of said shovels, and means leading from said housing whereby the products of distillation are withdrawn.

3. Apparatus for the treatment of shale rock comprising a plurality of retorts arranged end to end and spaced apart, means for conveying the shale rock through each retort and discharging the same into the next retort, heating elements within each retort, distillation plates in each retort above said heating elements upon which theshale rock is moved, means for withdrawing distillation products from each retort, separate means for supplying and controlling superheated steam admitted to said heating elements whereby the shale rock is successively subjected to temperatures to extract its carboniferous elements in their respective order of distillation.

Signed at Chicago, county of Cook and State of Illinois, this 8th day of April, 1922.

PHILANDER L. BENNETT. Witnesses:

E. K. LUNDY, Jr., S. J. PETERSEN. 

